


Attack on Labyrinth

by puppycatkittymuffin



Category: Labyrinth (1986), Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-12
Updated: 2017-12-14
Packaged: 2019-02-13 17:22:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12988809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/puppycatkittymuffin/pseuds/puppycatkittymuffin
Summary: Even after spending time with Armin in the library, Eren is simply tired of the life of fighting against the titans and losing friends and comrades. Sometimes he wishes his life could be like a fairytale, even though it's already like a labyrinth as it is. A maze of never ending puzzles and twists and turns, but sometimes there's a Goblin King around the corner to make the story worthwhile.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> \- Okay, so this randomly popped into my head. Judge not lest ye be judged. Constructive criticism is welcomed, and so is positive feedback if it doesn't suck. I love Attack on Titan and Labyrinth, and for some reason while listening to Magic Dance I just got the random idea of Levi being Jareth  
> \- Idk if the characters are fitting for the roles, and I couldn't find a way to fit Erwin in :( oh well  
> \- Hope the readers like it  
> \- Also I'm trying to figure out whether or not Marco should be dead in this... Don't ask, you'll probably figure it out later  
> \- Will be slightly different than the actual movie

Eren yawned as Armin read the text from his newly found book out loud, Erwin had found it in the depths of the library's dust that had somehow avoided Levi's overly cleansing touch, and it was so old that Levi had the idea to throw it away and both Armin and Erwin looked mortified at the thought. _Nerds_. Eren thought as Armin kept reading. While he could appreciate the facts of the world beyond the Walls, he was so bored with the idea of goblins, kings, and stolen babies. Maybe he was just facing depression, since he was already sick of the neverending twists and turns that reality hit them in the face with. The constant death was a painful reminder about how, even with the power of the Survey Corps(mainly Levi, sad but true), humanity was at its knees when it came to the Titans. They had fought and trained for years, yet it still seemed like they got nowhere. The only bright side was spending time reading with Armin and cherishing the memories he did have with his friends. Though if he had to listen to another minute of this fairytale with the obviously lovestruck Goblin King, he'd feed himself to the Titans. Who knows, maybe Mikasa would get angry enough to kill them all with her deadly glare that rivaled, but never defeated, Levi's.

"' _Give me the child_ ,'" Armin read aloud and Eren resisted the urge to go find Jean with the actual intention to piss him off. "' _Through dangers untold and harships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City to take back the child that you have stolen_ ,'" he continued and Eren pouted. Why did he agree to let Armin read him the book? He should've let Levi throw it away, or better yet he'd steal it while Armin was sleeping and then throw it over Wall Rose. Couldn't she see that the Goblin King was in love with her? He shook his head, he sounded like a crazed fangirl, or for short, Armin and Erwin, right now. Maybe he could find a way to piss Levi off enough that he'd kick the memories out of him. "' _For my will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom as great. You have no power over me_ ,'" Armin finished. "Are you tired?" he asked. "Yes, and no offense but that wasn't that great. Don't tell the Commander," he pleaded. Armin rolled his eyes. "You just have no imagination," he retorted. "Yes I do. I have better imagination than her. Couldn't she see the guy was in love with her? She didn't even stay with him!" Eren huffed. "Would you have stayed with him?" Armin challenged. Eren blinked with confusion. "I wouldn't have been stupid enough to wish my brother away in the first place," he retorted. "Sure you wouldn't," Armin said and Eren rolled his eyes. "Let me guess, you wish you were the girl and someone else was the Goblin King," he asked and then he smirked when he saw Armin's cheeks turn pink as his eyes widened. "N-no?" Armin said. "Sure, and I'm sane," Eren said, amused now. "Yeah, well... You wish it was you and Captain Levi!" Armin retorted and Eren nearly choked on his own tongue.

Him and _Captain Levi_? Levi _Heichou_? The idea was absurd and ridiculous! For the sake of the Walls, the man had beaten him when they first met! He kicked him so hard that his tooth went flying out of his mouth and then proceeded to kick the blood and spit out of him. Then again, with those beautiful gray eyes that had glinted silver when he was standing above him... With that silky, raven colored hair... He was short, but he was a God in his own right. His own 5'3 height(not that Eren had measured of course!) and he was a man who wasn't Humanity's Strongest for nothing. Eren's eyes glazed over and Armin smirked at him before slapping him in the head, delicately for the book's sake of course, causing him to nearly fall out of his seat. "Yeah, you're insane. For the Captain," Armin teased. "Shut up, at least it's not the Commander," Eren retorted and Armin threw the book at his head, hitting him square between the eyes.

"Jeez, I wasn't even serious. You're worse than me," Eren muttered as he rubbed the swollen spot. "Shut up," Armin said, pouting now. "Hey, could be worse," Eren said with a grin. "How?" Armin muttered. "Could be Jean and Marco," he said seriously and Armin barked out a laugh. "How would that even work? Marco's not the brooding type to be a Goblin King, and Jean may fit the girl's profile but still! He'd be more of the helper, snitch, helper guy!" Armin said and both teens broke down with laughter. "It'd work!" Eren promised. "What'd work? A swift boot up your asses so far you can taste the polish on my heel?" that monotone voice had both frozen in their seats, obviously with fear.

Armin peeked over Eren's shoulder and Eren turned around to see Levi glaring at the both of them, the book in his hand. "So while you're supposed to be cleaning the castle, I find the two of you sitting around gossiping like hormonal teenage girls," he snapped and both flinched. "W-well, uhm," Armin stuttered. "We finished cleaning, sir!" Eren said, saluting the Captain. "It looks like shit, Yeager," Levi said with the same glare. "We'll do it again," Armin said instantly. "You'll do it until I think you've done a somewhat decent job," Levi barked. "Yes, Heichou," they said together. Levi turned the book over, tch'ing at the dust as he did, and glared at the cover. "What's this shitty talk about Goblin Kings and Cadet Kirstein?" he asked. Both boys flushed. "We were talking about how Jean and Marco would've been the Goblin King and the girl, sir," Armin confessed, his face redder than Hanji's when she talked about Titans. Though this was from pure embarrassment and awkwardness. Levi raised a black eyebrow. "If anything, Shitty Glasses would've had an aneurism thinking about this. Make sure this shit doesn't get back to her," he ordered, slapping the book onto Armin's chest. "Yes, sir," they said together. "And if you're looking for a Goblin King for yourself, Arlert, don't go looking at Shitty Eyebrows," Levi said with a smirk and Armin looked ready to faint with embarrassment and Eren bit the insides of his cheeks. Just how much of that conversation _had_ he heard?

Eren didn't get an answer as Levi stormed out of the library, cursing under his breath about 'shitty cadets' and 'idiot Goblin Kings' and other things like that. "I hope he doesn't say anything, is it to late to kill myself?" Armin asked. Eren patted his shoulder sympathetically. "Probably," he said and Armin pouted again. "So... is that a no then?" the blonde asked. "For what?" Eren questioned. "To being the girl to his Goblin King?" Armin asked quietly. Eren glared at him before heading to the broom closet. "What? It's a simple question."

~After four straight hours of intense cleaning~

Eren was exhausted and slumped down the wall and sat on the floor after putting away the cleaning supplies. His arms were screaming at him and his legs were cramping up as he felt tiredness wash over him like a downpour of rain. He groaned as his muscles protested as he laid on the floor. A nap really didn't sound so bad, even if it meant getting turned into a kicking toy for the Captain. He thought about the very awkward conversation with Armin and groaned again. He prayed to the Walls that Levi hadn't heard the first part of the conversation. But speaking of Armin, he saw the book lying on the floor. "Eh, he can have it back later," Eren muttered before pulling the book closer and lying his head onto it like a makeshift pillow and closing his eyes, succumbing to the sweet bliss of darkness.

He wasn't sure on how long he was out, but he did know that he was awakened by a rude and obnoxious tapping on the window. "Jean if that's you, go have Marco ride you into the sunset," Eren muttered. The tapping grew louder and louder until it got so annoying that Eren shot up, his eyes blazing angrily and then he stopped where he stood. There wasn't anything there. "Jean, I swear to God if this is a prank I am going to kick your ass!" Eren snapped as he stood, brushing the actually nonexistent dirt off his uniform. Yet he noticed the key to his father's basement wasn't there. He began feeling around his uniform, checking his pockets and even his straps. It wasn't there. He glared at the floor. "Great," he muttered before returning to his dorm, forgetting to check the rest of the hallway he had passed out in.

What was weird and actually kind of creepy about the Survey Corps Headquarters at night was that it was quiet. Not having Shadis around was both quiet and disappointing, though that was only because even his company would have been appreciated on this dark, creepy night. Eren was positive he would've heard a mouse squeak and a pin drop. Where the hell was Hanji? She might've been sleeping, but even someone roamed the hallways at night to make sure nobody was out of bed at night doing something stupid. He'd even take getting annoyed by Jean. He entered the boy's dormitory to see that it was completely empty, save for the key to his father's basement which was on the pillow of his bunk. He glared at the key as though he could make it combust with his glare. He hated that key. The day Wall Maria fell his father had told him that he'd show him what was in the basement. He didn't know what was down there, but it probably had to do with Titans and if his father really kept the secret to defeating them from the Survey Corps this entire time, then Eren hated his father and everything in the basement and the key especially. It was like the key was the literal key to the secrets behind the ravenous monsters that took his mother and countless other lives. Sometimes he wished he could just wish it all away, the key included.

"Heh," he muttered as he picked up the key. "Nothing but trouble, I wish I could wish you gone," Eren said with anger. "He's going to say it!" a voice that Eren couldn't hear whispered in a raspy voice. "Say what?" a slightly louder voice asked. "Shut up!" multiple voices hissed. "You shut up," a female voice snapped. "He's going to say the words!" a voice snapped, quietly. "Did he say it?" the voice asked. "Shut up!" multiple voices hissed again."I wish the Goblins would come and take you away, right now," he muttered before throwing it back down onto the pillow and turning around to go find someone else, hopefully Mikasa at least. A sudden scuffling sound made him turn back and he saw the ugliest little thing that looked like a miniature Titan. It had bugged out eyes inside a small but pudgy head with a large nose and a smaller body. It's hand, tiny and almost like a baby's, was wrapped around the string of the key. "Hey!" Eren yelled, glaring at the Titan. It waved at him before diving under his pillow, taking the key with it. "Get back here you freak of nature!" Eren screamed before diving after the Titan. He lifted his pillow to see nothing under it. Creepy giggles came from behind him and he turned around to see another Titan, though hairier looking, dive behind a nightstand. He ran towards it and lifted it up, to see nothing. "Ohohoho!" a creepy little voice came from behind him again. Was he having a nightmare? He pinched himself to see as he picked up a pillow, sadly the only mean for current defense assuming the small titan didn't try to eat him. The obnoxiously annoying tapping came again, this time from the window as he kept darting back and forth to the creepy sounds.

Little snarls came from under the blankets of one of the beds as another tiny Titan scurried around underneath it. He tried to step on it before it hit the ground, but he knew it must have scurried under the bed. Thunder was pounding outside now as the rain beat furiously against the window and the tapping grew louder and louder as Eren looked under the bunk. Nothing. He jumped back up and held his arms in front of himself immediately as the window shot open, letting in rain and something that flapped vigorously at his face almost threateningly. He looked from behind his arms and saw a figure standing by the window, his green cape flowing almost gracefully and divinely behind him with a darkened shadow behind it.

The handles sat firmly in his hands as silver, shining blades were seated into the handles. He saw the vertical maneuvering gear underneath the billowing, emerald green cape and the white pants and tanned jacket similar to his. He even saw the wings, one white and the other royal blue, on the jacket that matched his own. Gray eyes bore into his own turquoise ones. "Levi?" he asked with confusion. Was he dreaming? Levi was still intimidating, even if was just a dream, but he held a different air around himself. Levi was naturally dominating, intimidating, and downright scary, scarier than Eren was batshit crazy when he was in his Titan form, but he wore a lazy smirk with a raised eyebrow. "What's going... on?" he asked. "You didn't want the responsibility, and now you don't have it anymore," was all Levi, in his traditional monotone voice, said. "The key? Some freaking Titan took it!" he said, hoping the Captain would believe him. Maybe Hanji's experiments had gotten out of hand? Were Titans even intelligent enough to know that the key was obviously important? Was the key even that important? A giggle came from behind and he darted his head back, seeing the Titan creeping behind the fallen nightstand. "Give it back!" he snapped. "What's said is said, Yeager. You didn't want the key, so he took it," Levi said. "Is this some kind of prank? It's not funny, and you're not a prankster... sir," he said awkwardly. Levi's smirk lightly grew. "No prank, Yeager. You don't have to worry about the Titans anymore. The key is gone, so is humanity's last hope," Levi said it so simply. He wasn't acting like himself at all! "Sir, with all do respect, are you drunk?" Eren asked. Levi rolled his eyes, the creepy un-Levi like smirk still on his lips. "You were fed up with being humanity's last hope. Now you're not. The key is gone, so is the power you held. The power went with the key, it's all gone, Yeager," he said. "Sir, that's not what I meant!" Eren gaped at him. Was this a dream? Was this real? How the hell did Levi get in here... well, he was surprisingly agile and had a tendency to appear out of nowhere, but where was everyone else and what did he mean about the power being gone? "Oh, you didn't?" Levi asked rhetorically.

"You aren't the Survey Corps' piglet anymore, Yeager. You're free to go," Levi said. "No, sir! Where's the key? I need the key!" Eren pleaded, hoping this was just a dream. "Eren," Levi said in the same monotone. "Go back home, go work in the fields with your little friends," he ordered. "Sir, I need the key," Eren said instantly. "I brought you a gift," Levi said. "What?" Eren asked, confused. Levi lifted his fingers and out of thin air, as though conjured by magic, a crystal ball appeared on his fingertips. Eren's eyes widened. "What is--?" he asked. "Tch, what do you think, idiot?" Levi said, waving the crystal ball around on his fingertips and through his fingers. "I need the key back, sir, this is a dream, right? It's not real... I'm going to wake up in the hallway and you're going to be standing over me with that glare," he said and Levi's smirk turned lazy again. "Yeager, don't defy your Captain," he said as the crystal turned into a Titan that Levi basically flicked at him. Eren had to rip it away from his throat and he heard multiple giggles, though saw nobody behind him when he turned. "You could have what you want. Freedom," Levi said. "It's not freedom, it's working in the fields. It's not killing all of the Titans," Eren retorted. Levi raised an eyebrow. "You could have your mother back," he said. "For what?" Eren retorted sharply. Levi smirked again. "Smart boy, for a simpleton," he said. "Leave the key out for the Titans to take, and you wouldn't have anymore problems. You weren't even supposed to be a Titan," Levi said. "Sir?" Eren asked, but Levi said no more.

"I need the key back, sir," Eren said. Levi glared lightly at him before sighing. "It's there, in that castle," he said, pointing out the window. Eren looked and saw a castle, quite far in the distance, yet clearly a large foundation, standing nearly on the horizon. "Is this supposed to be a dream about that book? Is that supposed to be the castle beyond the Goblin City?" he asked. "If I were you, I'd turn back before it's too late," Levi said. "No, sir," Eren said immediately. "This is just a dream and I'm supposed to solve the Labyrinth, and I have to kill Armin after I wake up," Eren said firmly. "Pity," Levi said. "I'll give you thirteen hours to solve the Labyrinth, but if you don't then you might as well forget the Survey Corps. Well, you'll forget everything anyway," Levi said as he disappeared, a clock behind him with thirteen numbers. "Pity," he heard Levi's voice echo. "Armin, the minute I wake up you're dead. The Commander too and I'm going to help the real Levi burn that book," Eren muttered as he began his trek to the castle, unaware of the reality behind the situation. Such a pity.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Ok, chapter two. Thanks for the kudos.  
> \- With Magic Dance, I thought of Levi two days ago while listening to it. I intend on making a video with it, I just need a better computer and less schoolwork. Hope the chapter is good!

Eren grimaced, hating Armin more and more even though the blonde was loveable in every aspects from his adorable face to his intelligent brain. Sometimes though, Eren hated how much Armin loved reading. "Little, blonde... blue eyed... gonna make you watch as I burn that book," he promised revenge. He saw a familiar looking face standing by the giant Wall, somewhat similar but creepier than Sina, Rose, and Maria's foundations. He could recognize that horse-face anywhere. "Jean!" he called. Jean looked over to him with confusion before shrugging and slicing his blades through the air, causing something to get cut in half and fall to the ground. "57!" Jean said, stepping on the... whatever it was. It also looked like a miniature Titan, but with little thin fairylike wings. "What the hell?" Eren asked. "58!" Jean counted, kicking dirt over another Fairy-Titan. "What are they?" Eren asked, picking up the one Jean had kicked dirt over. "Titans, idiot," Jean said. "59!" he said cheerfully. "What is it--? Ow! It bit me!" Eren snapped, throwing the Titan to the ground. It huffed at him and he realized it had... womanly parts and blonde hair and blue eyes. He flushed instantly. "What do you expect Female-Titans to do?" Jean asked. "Nicer things than the males, obviously," Eren scowled. Jean snorted. "Moron," he said. "60!" he whooped.

"What are you... right, the dwarf. To bad they didn't turn you into a horse," Eren smirked and Jean scowled at him. "Yeah, yeah," he said, mimicking Eren with his hand. "Do you know where the door to the labyrinth is?" Eren asked. "Probably," Jean said. "Well, where is it?" Eren asked but Jean ignored him. "You little!" he glared at another Female-Titan. "I said 'where is it'?" Eren repeated, growing annoyed. "Where is what?" Jean asked, not even looking at him. Eren scowled. "The door!" he snapped. "What door?" he could _see_ Jean's smirk. "It's hopeless asking a horse anything! You might as well go back to the barn where you belong," Eren snapped. Jean looked back and glared at him. "Not if you ask the right questions, idiot," he retorted. "How do I get into the labyrinth?" Eren grit out. "Was that so hard, Yeager?" Jean asked with a smirk as he pointed behind Eren. Two large double-doors seemed to appear out of nowhere on the Wall and opened up to reveal the entrance to the labyrinth. Eren walked in and grimaced at the sight. The labyrinth in the book was described as dirty, covered in grime, and slimy looking with grotesque looking plants that had eyes. He supposed Levi being the Goblin King made it different. "Clean, isn't it?" Jean chuckled.

"Left or right?" Jean asked. "What?" Eren snapped, still annoyed. Jean rolled his golden eyes. "Would you go left or right?" he asked, gesturing to both which looked like stone walls that were neat and polished. "They look the same," Eren said. "Well, you're not going to get very far," Jean snorted. "Well, which way would you go?" Eren retorted. "Neither," Jean shrugged. "If you're not going to help then go back to the barn, Horse-face," Eren grumbled. Jean glared at him. "You wanna know you're problem, Yeager? You're taking too much for granted. For starters, you think this is a pointless dream that means nothing. Don't you know that if it's a dream and you're aware of it and you want to wake up, you do?" he snapped. Eren gaped at him and Jean smirked. "Take this labyrinth, even if you find the center you won't get out again," Jean explained. "That's your opinion," Eren muttered. "It's a lot better than yours," Jean retorted, walking back out now. "Thanks for nothing, Horse-face," Eren called. "It's Jean! And don't say I didn't warn you, Yeager!" Jean snapped, the doors slamming behind him.

He started walking down the pathway for a while, growing more and more confused and frustrated. "What does he mean labyrinth? There aren't any turns or corners, it just keeps going," Eren scowled, leaning against the wall. He perked up. "Maybe it doesn't?" he asked before walking further, then jogging, then sprinting, then running before he grew more and more frustrated and slammed himself against the wall, then the opposite wall, then the first wall again before sliding down and sitting against it, scowling at the ground. "Hello," a small voice said to him. He turned and jumped when he saw a tiny, almost bite sized looking Mikasa, staring at him, wearing the same clothes she had the day Wall Maria had fell and the same red scarf he'd given her when they met. "Mikasa?" he asked. The gray eyes twinkled and she nodded. "That's not 'hello', but that's close enough," she said. "You're the worm aren't you?" he asked. "Yeah, that's right," she said brightly, which was kind of creepy coming from her. "Do you know the way through this labyrinth?" he asked. "Me? No, to small," she said, gesturing to herself. "Oh," he said. "Wanna come in for a bit?" she asked. "No. I have to solve this stupid labyrinth that Armin talked me into," he groaned. "But there aren't turns or openings, why do they call it a labyrinth if there's no corners and different paths? It just goes on and on." 

"But of course there are! It's full of openings, you're just not looking," Mikasa explained. "Where?" Eren asked, getting in her tiny face. She punched his nose and he recoiled. "There's one right over there, right in front of you," she said, pointing to the opposite wall. He looked over, hopeful, only to glare at the wall as if to make an opening appear. "No there isn't," he said. "There's no opening," he said, getting to his feet. "Yes, there is. Try walking through, think before you act," she said and he stuck his tongue out at her. She glared at him, cursing his height under her breath. "Whose the shortstack now he says," she grumbled. "That's just wall, there's nothing there," Eren said, ignoring her complaining about Levi(he didn't need to ask) and staring at the wall with confusion. "Things aren't always what they seem in this dump, you can't take anything for granted," Mikasa said. He put his hands in front of him so that if it was a trick, he didn't humiliate himself by knocking himself out running into a wall. "Hey!" he said, cheerful now and full out grinning as he walked right through, seeing the two new pathways. "Hey, wait a minute!" Mikasa called as he went down the left path. He came back, still grinning. "Thanks, Mikasa!" he said before trying to head that way. "Don't go that way!" she called. "Huh?" he asked. "I said 'don't go that way', _never_ go that way!" she called. He looked down the path, contemplating her words. "Oh, thanks," he said with one last grin before heading down the right path. "If he'd kept going that way, he'd have ended up right at that castle," Mikasa sighed as her eyes hardened. "And ended up right in that midget's grasp," she grimaced before climbing into a hole in the wall.

In the distance Eren could see the castle and glared at it. "I'm getting that key back, sir," he spat. "And then I'm waking up, and kicking your midget ass," he stopped. "No, I'll hide behind Mikasa while she kicks your ass," he said with a smile, thinking about Mikasa at her proper height and kicking Levi Heichou into the dirt instead of Levi Heichou kicking Eren's teeth out. That seemed a lot better.

~in the castle~

To say Levi was annoyed would be an understatement. Nine more hours and thirty more minutes until the brat's time was up. First of all, the brat kept calling him a _Goblin_ King and acting as though it were a dream. Was this labyrinth not real enough for the brat? Was _he_ not real enough? The only good thing about the labyrinth's inhabitants were that they were small, smaller than even five meters. There would be no Titan taller than Levi's approximate and surprisingly intimidating 5'3. He glared at the clock that had thirteen numbers rather than twelve, with the hands aiming at two different numbers. He could will them to pass faster, but the brat hadn't pissed him off enough to make him do it and he knew the brat would only get shittier if he did.

He looked over to Hanji who was smearing ink on Moblit's sleeping face, giving him glasses, a _villainous_ mustache, and a goatee. He looked at the clock again and saw the brat's face in it before glaring at a random Titan with long dark brown hair and piercing green eyes and a surprisingly well-toned and muscular body. "' _You remind me of the babe_ ,'" he grabbed the Titan by the hair. It growled at him. "' _What babe?_ '" it asked. "' _The babe with the power_ ,'" Levi tossed it back. "' _What power?_ '" a Titan with yellow eyes, pale hair, and golden plated armor asked. "' _The power of voodoo_ ," he waved his hand at the Titan. " _Who do?_ " another asked. " _You do_ ," he said. " _Do what_?" a Titan with no skin, all muscle and piercing gray eyes, asked. "' _Remind me of the babe_ ,'" he threw the long-haired Titan in the air as the Titans started laughing. "Quiet!" he snapped and pointed at the key, which hung from the clock "A titan babe," he said and the Titans stared at him. "Well?" he asked dangerously quiet. They started laughing again.

"' _I saw my baby, crying hard as babe could cry_ ,'" he shot his vertical maneuvering gear out the window, zooming along with it to the top of a higher wall, safely in the distance and watched the brat racing around the labyrinth, pointing in different directions, muttering to himself, avoiding Titans, and even marking certain areas of the ground yet he didn't notice the Titans changing them, all while he was pouting with frustrated tears in his eyes. "' _What could I do? My baby's love had gone, and left my baby blue_ ,'" he saw the brat was still pouting as he came around another dead end, causing a smirk to plaster itself on Levi's lips. "' _Nobody knew!_ '" the Titans were grinning or smirking. "' _What kind of magic spell to use?_ '" they asked together. "' _Slime and snails!_ '" the Armored-Titan called. "' _Or puppy dog's tails!_ '" the Jaws-Titan called. "' _Thunder or lightning!_ '" came from the Colossal. "' _And baby said..._ '" the long-haired Titan's scream echoed through the labyrinth, shaking the nonexistent dust from their crevices in the walls.

He fired his hooks and zipped through the sky as graceful as a bird before coming back into the throne room where the Titans, Hanji especially with Moblit trying to hold her back, dancing together. "' _Dance magic dance_ ,'" "' _Dance magic dance_ ,'" the Titans rang out as a choir. "' _Dance magic dance_ ,'" he kicked the Colossal-Titan into the air. "' _Put that baby spell on me_ ,'" they danced and jumped. "' _Jump magic jump_ ,'" the Armored-Titan jumped and flapped his arms. "' _Jump magic jump_ ,'" he repeated. "' _Put that magic jump on me!_ '" the Jaws-Titan said. "' _Slap that baby, make him free!_ '" it said, slapping the long-haired Titan.

Levi watched the brat make a marking in the shape of an arrow into one of the blocks and rolled his eyes as one of the smaller Titans got angry and was shaking his little fist, as though the brat were _listening_. He was perched on the window of the throne room, large enough to show more than half of the labyrinth that was above ground. "Your mother is a friggin' aardvark!" it snapped as it flipped the tile and lowered it back down. Levi smirked. "In nine hours and twenty three minutes," he said, twirling the key lazily in his hand. "You'll be mine," he finished. The Warhammer-Titan started laughing. "' _I saw my baby, trying hard as babe could try_ ,'" the brat was still going even though he kept running into dead ends and was obviously confused, but he had a determination that was both inspiring and painful to watch. "' _What could I do? My baby's fun had gone and left my baby blue, nobody knew!_ '" the Titans joined him again. "' _What kind of magic spell to use?_ '" they said. "' _Slime and snails_ ,'" came from the Warhammer-Titan. "' _Puppy dog's tails_ ,'" said the Female-Titan. "' _Thunder or lightning_ ,'" from the Quadruped-Titan. "' _Then baby said..._ '" the long-haired Titan screamed again, echoing through the labyrinth and overjoying the others.

"' _Dance magic dance_ ,'" he spun around. "' _Dance magic dance, dance magic dance, put that baby spell on me_ ,'" the Titans called. "' _Jump magic jump, jump magic jump, jump magic jump. Put that baby spell on me. Slap that baby make him free! Dance magic dance, dance magic dance, dance magic dance, dance magic dance, dance magic dance, dance magic dance_ ,'" he threw the long-haired Titan into the air, making it giggle and laugh as its arms waved wildly. "' _Jump magic jump, jump magic jump_ ,'" the Armored-Titan caught the smaller Titan. "' _Jump magic jump, put that baby spell on me_ ,'" although he was known as the scary, unsmiling Titan King, at the thought of the babe with the power? He for the first time in quite a long time, Levi could genuinely say he smiled. Not that he'd ever let Hanji know that.

Meanwhile, frustrations were tense. "No," Eren muttered after marking another piece of the ground. He turned and saw that the mark was facing a different direction. "You dick," he muttered, thinking it to be Levi. "All's fair my ass," he added. "That's right! It's not fair!" a familiar voice made him turn his head before blinking and rubbing his eyes to make sure what he was seeing was real. Reiner and Bertolt were holding an orange shield up while Bertolt was doing a handstand and Reiner was standing above him. Ymir and Annie were in the same position, Ymir doing a handstand and Annie standing, but they were holding a blue shield. "That's only half of it," Ymir said with a smirk. "This was a dead end..." Eren blinked in realization. "No, that's the dead end behind you," Annie said. He glowered. "It keeps changing, how am I supposed to get through the labyrinth when he cheats? I just want to wake up and go home and kill Armin!" Eren snapped. The four stared at him, three with shock and the other the usual stoic expression. "Try one of the doors," Reiner offered. "One of them leads to the castle," Bertolt explained. "And the other to--" Ymir cut him off. "Certain death," she said. "Which one is which?" Eren asked. "We can't say," Bertolt shrugged. "Why not?" Eren demanded. "We don't know," Ymir said nonchalantly. "They do," she said, pointing up. "You can only ask one person, because one person lies and the other tells the truth," Reiner said simply.  "Why?" Eren asked. "It's on the rules. He always lies," Annie said. "I do not! I tell the truth!" Reiner glared at her. "Liar," Annie muttered. Ymir snorted into her hand. "She's the liar, Eren!" Reiner pouted. "All I ever did was tell the truth," Annie glared at him. "No, you didn't say anything at all, liar!" Reiner snapped. She rolled her eyes.

Eren scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. Okay, maybe he'd wait to kill Armin... "Answer yes or no. Would she tell me that this door leads to the castle?" he asked Reiner. Reiner hid his face behind the shield and started muttering with Bertolt. "Yes?" he said. "Then the other door leads to the castle and this one certain death?" Eren asked. "She could be telling the truth," Reiner shrugged. "Then you'd be lying, so if you said she said yes the answer is no?" Eren's head was starting to hurt. "I was telling the truth," Reiner defended. "Then she'd be lying, the answer would still be no," Eren guessed. "Is that right?" Reiner asked Annie. "I don't know, you think I understand it anymore than he does?" she retorted and Ymir snorted again. "I don't know... Annie scares me, and Ymir's chop a man's balls off if they touched Christa," Eren said and Reiner's legs folded over each other and Ymir smirked. "So are you saying you're taking their door?" Annie asked. "I don't know!" Eren snapped. "Just take this door then," Annie sighed, moving the shield with Ymir. "If this kills me, I'm going to haunt you," Eren warned and Ymir rolled her eyes and Annie sighed again. "And some people think it's a piece of cake," he scowled as he opened the door, yelping as he fell downwards. "Don't you think you were a little harsh?" Reiner asked as the two moved back in front of the door. "I don't know. One leads to an oubliette, we don't know if the other leads straight into the castle," Ymir said simply. "SCREW YOU!" they heard Eren yell.

"Let go! Help! Stop! Help!" Eren pleaded. "What do you mean 'help'? We are helping," a random voice said. "We are helping hands," he nearly vomited at the sight. Random limbs protruded out of the walls and and crevices and grabbed onto his arms and legs. "It hurts!" Eren snapped. "Would you like us to let go?" a voice asked and they let him go. "NO!" he yelped and they grabbed right back onto him. "Well then, come on, which way?" another hand asked. "Which way?" Eren asked, suspicious. "Up or down?" they asked. "Up," Eren said immediately. "Up means down," the hands started chanting down. "I said _up_!" Eren yelled. "To late now," they cackled, letting him fall into a hole and he fell into sand. He looked up at the only source of light and saw them close a latch, almost like a dungeon chamber. Levi was staring at the brat through the crystal. "He's in the oubliette," he said and the Titans started laughing. "Shut up, he's not going to give up. Probably not even when the horse leads him back to the beginning and he has to start all over again," he muttered and the Titans started laughing again. He rolled his eyes, giving the crystal ball one last look before throwing it into the air as he too began laughing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- How were the lyrics?  
> \- I like Japanese dub, Engish sub, but I love the fact that Matthew Mercer voices Levi's English dub since it's Leon from Resident Evil 6  
> \- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sE9oGlbiGs4  
> \- That's the link, that's the first vid I did outside of schoolwork. Hopefully it doesn't suck


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- A bit more Ereri  
> \- Jean is being a Horse-faced butt that we can't help but love

Eren jumped as he heard footsteps in the darkness, though he was sure he was alone a minute ago. "Whose there?" he snapped. "Don't give yourself a stroke, Yeager. It's me," that same obnoxiously arrogant voice said. "Couldn't it have been anyone else?" Eren muttered as a candle was suddenly lit, lighting up the dark room where he sat on his knees and Jean stood with a look of annoyance on his face. "I knew you were going to get into trouble, and it'd be less fun to watch you die slowly in an oubliette," Jean said with a shrug. "A what?" Eren asked. Jean rolled his eyes. "A place to put people to forget about them, no wonder Armin's the smart one," Jean said with a smirk. "Lucky for your dumbass self, I know a shortcut out of the labyrinth," he added. "No, I need a shortcut to the center!" Eren snapped, scrambling to his knees. "Why?" Jean asked, obviously rhetorical. "Because I need the key! Unlike you I actually want to help humanity fight the Titans!" Eren snapped, his anger bubbling. "By doing what exactly? Acting as bait so Mikasa and Armin can do all the work?" Jean asked. Eren glared at him. "Is there no way to convince your ugly horse mug to help me solve the labyrinth?" he asked.

Jean's eyes lit up like Hanji's when the conversation turned to Titans. "No. She'll say no anyway," Eren said calmly. Jean shrugged. "Fine, guess you didn't want that way out that bad after all," he said simply. Eren's hands turned into fists and he bit his lip. "Wait," he sighed. "If you at least take me as far as you can, which should at least be a damn well decent amount--" Jean rolled his eyes again. "I'll ask Mikasa if she'd consider a date with your ugly mug," he offered. "I'll take you as far as I can, a decent amount, and you'll beg Mikasa to go on a date with me," Jean said with a smirk. Eren's fists tightened. "Do we have a deal, Yeager?" he asked, extending his hand. "Deal," Eren grit out, gripping Jean's hand with more force than necessary.

The horse-face bent over and grabbed a long, brown burlap sack and pulled out a wooden... square? Eren could see that it was shorter than Levi as Jean pressed it against the wall. He pulled out a key from a pocket on his uniform and stuck it in the lock. "Either you're special effects artists or you practice some serious black magic," Eren muttered and Jean flipped him off. "It works, two-way door," Jean said as he pulled the door back. He got it open about a crack before a creepy face showed itself, a bright golden eye underneath dangerous shadow. "Shit!" Jean yelled, slamming the door shut. "That was your fault by the way," he added, locking the door again. "Who was that?" Eren asked. "You couldn't tell?" Jean snapped, turning the key the other way. "Well, can't be right all the time," Jean muttered as he opened the door again, a sword drawn. Light shown through the doorway and he put his sword away. "Come on, then," he gestured and Eren followed him, both having to crawl through the overly small door.

"Don't go on!" Eren jumped when a sudden booming voice echoed right into his ear. On the corners of the walls were the faces of Titans, made from stone, but they were still moving and even speaking. "Go back while you still can," another called. "Beware! Beware!" said a third. "Soon it will be too late," a rather guttural voiced Titan said. "Ignore it. They're false alarms. You can't trust a Titan. There's tons in the labyrinth and the only reason they don't eat people is because of Levi Heichou. You'll get a lot of them when you're on the right path," Jean explained. "Oh, no you're not," another Titan, one with an armored face that looked painfully familiar said. "Shut up!" Jean snapped. "Sorry, just doing my job," the armored-face spat. "Well don't bother," Jean retorted. "Beware for the--" a colossal-face started, but Jean cut it off again. "Please? I havent' said it in a long time," the face pouted. "Fine, just don't expect a big reaction," Jean grumbled. "For the path you take will lead to certain destruction! Eh, could be better," the colossal-face pouted again.

Eren looked down the surprisingly clean hallways, though they were still darkened by the lack of light, and stopped when he saw a crystal ball rolling across the ground. "Shit," Jean muttered as they followed the crystal until it leapt up, almost of its own accord, into a random cup. The holder of that cup, using one hand instead of two, glared at the both of them with those same familiar gray eyes. "What have we here?" he asked. "N-nothing," Jean stuttered and Eren wanted to slap him. "Nothing?" Levi raised a black eyebrow. "A nice surprise!" Jean said with a nervous grin. "Horse's ass," Levi greeted. "Horse-face," Eren corrected and Levi smirked. " _Jean_ ," Jean pouted. "I didn't peg you as the helping type, Kirstein," Levi said as his shadow loomed over the two of them, though they both still stared down at him. "H-h-helping? N-no, I was taking him back to the beginning," Jean said instantly. "You ass," Eren snapped. "I told him that I would help him, but actually--" Levi cut him off. "Mikasa sends her regards, the answer is and will always be no," he said and Jean looked down at his feet. "Not to mention if I thought for a minute that your sorry ass would betray your shitty word, I'd be more than willing to send you headfirst over Wall Rose," Levi threatened. Jean backed away and kept his head down. "And you, shitty brat," Levi said, directing his attention to Eren now.

"How's the labyrinth?" he asked, shooing Jean away who didn't hesitate to follow orders as he disappeared down a tunnel. Eren stared him straight in the eyes, knowing full well that it was a dream. "Fake as the dream it exists in," he said harshly. Levi's eyebrow went a little higher as he leaned an arm against the wall of the tunnel, a lazed smirk on his face. "Fake? The labyrinth isn't real enough for you?" Levi asked, leaning closer to Eren. He backed away, only to have his back pressed against the wall. His cheeks turned scarlet as he realized just how close Levi was. Even though the bastard was shorter than him, he was still intimidating and fully capable of killing Eren with probably only a finger. "Am _I_ not real enough for you?" he asked huskily, his hot breath ghosting over Eren's skin and leaving goosebumps. Eren turned his head and looked at anything but Levi. The king didn't like that. He trailed his finger along Eren's jawline until it reached his chin and then pinched it between his thumb and index finger, jerking his head upwards and forcing him to look at him. Their faces were _centimeters_ apart, Levi's lips ghosting over his own. "How about we up the stakes, then?" he asked, turning Eren's head to look at the thirteen numbered clock as it showed him the hour he had lost. "That's not fair," Eren muttered. "Everyone says that so often, it makes me wonder what the basis for comparison is," Levi whispered, turning Eren's head back towards him.

"I can tell you right now, Yeager," Levi started, somehow getting closer. "It's only a dream if you let it, and I can be very much real," he warned before pulling away, leaving Eren rosy cheeked and awkward. "How's this for reality?" Levi asked, conjuring a crystal ball and throwing it down the tunnel. It seemed to morph into something in the distance and Levi disappeared. "The Cleaners! Run!" Jean snapped, peeking his head over the corner and grabbing Eren's arm. "You sure got his attention!" Jean grimaced as they ran down the hall, the loud menace behind them clanging dangerously. They ran until Jean pulled him to the side, the wall caving in and they saw two figures that looked like Eld and Gunther driving the Cleaners, wearing their cleaning uniforms. "A ladder, follow me," Jean ordered as he brushed himself off and began climbing a rather thin and ricket looking ladder. "After all that? I can't trust you," Eren retorted. "You were taking me back to the beginning," he said, glaring again. "I wasn't. I told him that to throw him off, told tell him I said that though," Jean pleaded. "How am I supposed to believe anything you say? Horses shouldn't even talk," Eren snapped. "Okay then, what choice do you have?" Jean retorted. Eren blinked and sighed as he started up the ladder as well. "You're right," he muttered.

"You have to think about my position, we all know I'm a coward and obviously Levi scares me," Jean explained. "What kind of position is that?" Eren asked, keeping a healthy distance away from... a view he'd rather not have. "No position, that's the point. I could be on my knees, chained to a post like you, but I'm not and I am thankful for that," Jean said and Eren glared at him. "You wouldn't be a suicidal bastard if you'd faced a Titan after getting thrown over Wall Rose by Heichou himself. You don't have any gear, no gas, no swords, nothing but your own suicidal determination. There's no Mikasa to save your ass or Armin to come up with some suicidal scheme that actually works," Jean added. "What's the big deal when I'm going to wake up. Isn't that some kind of tale? If you're about to die in a dream, you'll wake up?" Eren asked. He narrowly missed getting Jean's heel into his face. "You're so certain this is a dream, yet you haven't woke up yet," Jean snapped as he kept climbing. "Well, I probably just need to finish the stupid dream," Eren said firmly. "Whatever helps you wake up in the middle of the night," Jean retorted.

Jean grunted as he lifted a piece of the ceiling, revealing a hole he climbed through. "Alright, you're on your own," he said as he climbed out of a pot. "What? Wait a minute-- You horse-faced bastard!" Eren yelled as he climbed out, nearly tripping over the pot. "That's it, I quit," Jean said. "I took you as far as I could, that's all I promised," Jean said simply. "What about Mikasa?" Eren snapped. "What's the point? She's hot and obsessed over you," Jean said. "You cheating horse-faced bastard!" Eren spat. "Don't try to embarrass me, I don't have any idiotic pride," Jean said, attempting to walk away. "How far can you get without these?" Eren asked, pulling a set of keys from Jean's belt. "Hey! Those are mine you green-eyed bastard!" Jean yelled, making a grab and Eren dashed the other direction. "Give them back, Yeager!" Jean snapped. "Help me get to the center of the labyrinth then, or I'll find Marco and tell him that you're in love with him!" Eren threatened. Jean blinked at him before flushing deeply and making another grab for the keys. He maanged to tackle Eren and they began brawling on the ground, the keys forgotten momentarily.

A sudden chuckle made them both look up, Eren's hand pressed against Jean's cheek and holding his head at arm's length while Jean gripped Eren's wrist with one hand and his shirt with the other. Eren kneed him in the groin and Jean's face contorted into pain as he stood, leaving Jean to hold himself in agony. The person who chuckled, a boy with blonde hair and gray eyes, wearing the Survey Corps uniform, stared at them with amusement. "Can you help me?" Eren asked. The person raised a blonde eyebrow. "Who are you?" he asked. "Eren Yeager," he saluted, his fist over his heart and the other arm behind his back. "And this is?" he asked as he gestured to Jean. "My _noble steed_ ," Eren grumbled and the boy chuckled again. "What could you need help with?" the boy asked as he sat himself on a random bench. "I have to get to the center of this stupid labyrinth, to the castle," Eren explained. "How's that for brainpower?" a new voice, that of a girl, asked as a girl with short pigtails, bright green eyes, also wearing the Survey Corps uniform appeared. The boy glared at her. "Be quiet!" he ordered. She stuck her tongue out at him. The boy shrugged. "Sometimes the way forward, is the way back," the boy said. "Are you listening to this crap?" the girl asked. "Will you please be quiet?" the boy snapped. She blew a raspberry at him. "Who are you?" Eren asked with confusion as Jean stumbled to his feet. "Isabel Magnolia and Farlan Church," the girl said and the boy rolled his eyes. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we have to find Levi bro and make him tell us the way out!" Isabel said cheerfully, waving goodbye as she dragged Farlan to his feet and hauled him off a random path. "It's the wrong way," he heard Farlan say. "How would you know?" Isabel retorted. "Because you've seen that female shaped Titan statue several times," Eren didn't hear either of them after that.

"Noble steed?" Jean asked as they passed by the hedges. "Well, I would say friend if you were a good friend," Eren spat. "At least Marco gets it," Jean grumbled. "You could be a friend if you put effort into it," Eren said, rolling his eyes. "I'd almost like that if you weren't insane," Jean muttered. A sudden screaming hit their ears. "Gah! Goodbye!" Jean said instantly, running the other directions. "Wait a minute!" Eren snapped, grabbing his arm. "Keep the keys! You'll need them!" Jean snapped, pulling away. "Are you my friend or not?!" Eren yelled. "NO! I look after myself, just like everyone else! I am my own damn friend!" Jean answered, pushing Eren away. "You coward!" Eren yelled as Jean disappeared behind the hedges.

Eren crept around the hedges to see Marco surrounded by three different Titans, all of which were only five meters. The first was a four legged Titan, the second was the Smiling-Titan, and the other was the gray bearded Titan. Marco was being lifted by another Titan, heading for the jaws of death. Eren's anger began bubbling again, but this time it pooled over. He yelled as he threw a rock at the bearded Titan's head. Smaller Titans began swarming the three, even the fourth which was about to eat Marco, and began clawing at them. "Who bit me!?" the Quadruped-Titan asked, clutching the hindquarters protectively. "Retreat!" a random voice said. "My aching sushi!" Eren swore he heard, and it was followed by another pained scream from one of the Titans. The three Titans disappeared while the one that almost ate Marco dropped its almost snack and was devoured by the smaller Titans. Marco scrambled away and Eren pulled him to his feet. Sweat ran down his temples and tears down his freckled cheeks, but he had a look of gratitude.

"Thanks," he said breathlessly as the smaller titans disappeared into the hedges, their meal finished. "You okay?" Eren asked. "Fine, thanks to you," Marco said brightly. "What happened?" Eren asked. Marco flushed. "Eh, some stuff happened. Nothing serious, I don't think," he said simply. "I'll kill all of them, I'll--" before Eren could go on a rage rant, Marco pinched his lips together. "Don't draw them back," he pleaded and Eren nodded, though he swatted Marco's hand away. "Why are you here?" the freckled boy asked. "I need my key back, Levi has it. Do you know the way to the center of the labyrinth?" Eren asked. Marco blinked at him. "No," he confessed. Eren smiled lightly. "I'll figure it out, eventually," they shared a smile before Eren blinked, looking over Marco's shoulder. "Where did... those come from?" he asked, looking at the two knockers on the two doors that had randomly appeared.

He looked up at them, seeing Petra's head as one of the knockers, the attachment in her ears, with the other knocker of the other door as Oluo's head, but the knocker was in his mouth. "It's rude to stare," Petra said suddely, her eyes glaring at the two of them. "Which door do I pick?" Eren asked. Petra glared at him. "What?" she snapped. Oluo's head suddenly started talking, though it was muffled by the knocker. "Don't talk with your mouth full!" Petra snapped. Oluo's head started arguing with her. "Wait, I can't understand you," Eren said, pulling the knocker out of his mouth. He stretched out his jaw and gave him a look of gratitude. "What were you saying?" Petra asked. "It's nice to have that thing out, at least it's clean," Oluo said with a smile. "What did you say?" Eren asked. His smile turned into a smirk. "I said, it's no good talking to her. She's as deaf as a post," he said. "Mumble, mumble. Such a wonderful conversational companion," Petra retorted. "All you do is moan," Oluo snapped. "No good, can't hear you," Petra said fondly. "Where do these doors go?" Eren asked. Oluo rolled his eyes. "We're the knockers, we don't know," he said. "How do I get through?" he asked, not seeing any handles. "Knock and the door opens, brat," Oluo said and Petra rolled her eyes. Eren looked down and saw a small Beast-Titan had taken the knocker and stuck it in his mouth. "Hey!" he snapped, ripping it out of the Titan's mouth. It glared at him before running away. "Nuh uh! I don't want that thing back in my mouth!" Oluo said as Eren lifted the knocker. "Come on, I want to knock," Eren said. "Mmm mmm!" Oluo snapped, shutting his lips and curling thim in. "Doesn't want the ring back in his mouth, can't say I blame him," Petra said with a delighted smirk as she watched.

Eren glared at him and Oluo glared right back. "This is for trying to act like Levi all the time," he said and Petra snorted. "You don't know the half of it, thanks for avenging us all!" she cheered him on as he pinched Oluo's nose. He grunted and groaned before he finally gasped for breath and Eren shoved the knocker back in his mouth. He knocked on the door. "Sorry about the knocker," he said. "That's alright, I'm used to it," Oluo muttered. The door slowly swung open as Eren entered it and Marco followed, though it shut right behind them as they entered a creepy looking forestry area. It reminded Eren of the Forest of Tall Trees, but slightly different. Mainly because at the moment there were no Titans, especially the Female, and it was much creepier with the fog that crept along the trees. "This is creepy," Marco muttered and Eren nodded as he looked around.

"There's nothing to be afraid of," Eren said and Marco didn't have a chance to yell before he fell into the ground, disappearing from sight without a trace. Eren turned and blanched. "Marco?" he called. "Marco? Marco? Marco, where are you? Marco!" he kept calling so loudly, he could be heard in the distance. Jean grimaced as he heard Eren's annoying voice hit his ears, though what was upsetting was that he was calling _Marco's_ name out of all names. "Jean, help!" he heard Eren call. He grit his teeth and balled his hands into fists before attempting to turn, only to stop at the sight of Levi leaning against the tree that hadn't been there before. "Well, if it isn't the horse on his way back to the barn," Levi said uncaringly as he brushed away invisible dust. "Where are you going?" he asked. "Eh, the idiot gave me the slip but I think I know where he's at now so I'll be on my way to take him back to the beginning of the labyrinth," Jean said with a nervous grin. "For a moment I thought you let go of your pride to go and _help_ him," Levi said in a dangerous tone. "Yet, I noticed your keys are missing. Funny how such an important thing goes missing so easily," Levi said and Jean gulped. "Y-yeah, I should find those! But first, I'm going to take him back to the beginning of the labyrinth," Jean promised. "I've a better idea," Levi said, lifting his hand. "Give him this," he ordered, tossing a potato into Jean's hand. "What is it?" he asked. "A present," Levi said with a raised eyebrow. "It's not... gonna kill him, right?" Jean asked. "Is that concern?" Levi asked. "I don't want to do your dirty work," Jean said defensively. "You'll give that to him or I'll toss your freckled boyfriend right back into that Titan's mouth. You still wouldn't even be _half_ the man he is," Levi spat and Jean grimaced. "And if he ever hugs you, I can promise you'll be turned into a Prince," Levi promised. "Prince?" Jean asked, confused. "Prince of the Noble Steeds!" Levi promised before disappearing again and Jean looked down with shame.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- A lot different from the movie, but the part is inspired by a Chibi vid of Levi's powerful cleansing kisses!  
> \- Another part inspired by another video  
> \- Lyrics are not mine but I wish David Bowie's singing voice was

Eren stopped when he heard a strange tapping sound. "Whose there? What do you want?" he called before nearly jumping out of his skin at what appeared before him. It looked to be as tall and equally built as Reiner, hell it _looked_ like Reiner but it wasn't. It was a Titan. It had red skin underneath golden plates of armor, with completely yellow eyes and pale blonde, almost white, hair. It grinned at him as two more Titans, one the Colossal-Titan with steam pouring from his jaws and the other the Female-Titan, nape and fingers crystallized, jumped out of nowhere and stared at him. Two more Titans, one small with the figure of a chimpanzee and large and pointed teeth and sharp nails, and the other large and overly hairy with apelike arms, also appeared.

"We have a mission!" the Armored-Titan said. They were like the Titans they were based on, but they were all the same height as the humans inside the napes unless it was the Jaws-Titan, which was just the even more miniature version. The Armored-Titan made a grab for him and he attempted to punch it in the face, only to hurt himself to where his hand felt broken and only a bit of steam came out of the slightly cracked plate on his cheek. "My turn," it said, cracking its knuckles before swining and hitting him square in the face, knocking him down instantly. "It's times like this when you just can't back down," he swore he heard the Armored-Titan say those words, but it sounded blurred and distant. Eren looked up and saw the Female standing above him. He jumped up, wobbling as he did, and duck his fingers into her face and one into her eye, ignoring the pain from the steam. He ripped her head from her body, though she managed to elbow him in the face with a crystallized elbow.

"Hey, that's her head!" the Colossal-Titan snapped. "He needs to be taught a lesson," the Armored-Titan said. "Leave me alone!" Eren yelled as the Beast-Titan swiped at him, slicing his shirt and scratching his chest. The Jaws-Titan leapt onto his shoulders and scratched his face as the Armored-Titan punched him again and again until he fell to the ground. The words he heard were echoed, and he only barely made them out as the Armored-Titan kept talking. "And fulfill my duty to the bitter end!" he promised. "Are we doing this? Here? Now?" the Colossal-Titan asked. "Yes. We-- what the hell?!" the Armored-Titan yelled. Eren only heard echoed screams and barely saw a blonde haired Titan with blue eyes that looked strangely familiar pick up the Colossal-Titan and devour him. The Armored-Titan took off with the Beast-Titan, and the Jaws-Titan clung the to Armored-Titan's shoulder.

He blinked and the Armin-Titan lookalike had taken off and he looked up, his vision still hazy but he could recognize those gray eyes and that black hair anywhere with that surprisingly intimidating status despite his short stature. He groaned and turned away. "Tch, filthy," he heard Levi say. He suddenly became aware of the warm, wet feeling on his head and chest, realizing he was bleeding, but he wasn't steaming back together like he would have. Was he... was he not a Titan anymore? Was that what Levi meant by the power being gone with the key? But it was a _dream_! It wasn't real... was it? Despite his nonverbal protests, Levi turned him onto his back so that he was looking right up at the king. "Are you done fighting yet?" he asked. Eren's glare was answer enough. "At least let me do this," Levi said, pulling his head up and pressing their lips together forcefully yet... amazingly? Eren flushed as he clung to Levi's shoulders, attempting and failing to push him off. He tried to bite Levi's tongue, which tried to force itself into his mouth in a wet, slimy, steamy way, but it resulted in Levi pulling his hair painfully.

His chest was burning with the need for air. Levi pulled away before practically _sprinkling_ his face with kisses, each one making his face turn a darker shade of red. "Better?" he asked as he finally pulled away. Eren blinked at him with confusion and embarrassment until he realized the pain and dizziness was gone and he could hear clearly. "What did you do?" he asked. Levi smirked. "What'd you do? _Kiss_ me clean?" Eren snorted and Levi's smirk grew. "Can you get off me, please?" Eren asked, realizing the position he was in. He was lying on the ground, held up only by Levi's surprisingly strong grasp, with Levi standing above him, gripping his hair, and both of their lips were swollen with the kisses and Eren's flush managed to darken further. "Tch, at least you asked, brat," Levi said before letting him fall to the ground and standing himself, though he was _generous_ enough to extend a hand which Eren took.

Eren cleared his throat awkwardly and Levi rolled his eyes before gripping his shirt and kissing him again. " _H-heichou!_ " he stuttered. "Tch, it's Levi, brat," Levi tsk'd. "G-get off!" Eren ordered. "Don't give orders, shitty brat," Levi said before letting his shirt go. "You've made it surprisingly far, I'll give you that. Time runs short, though. It always does," he said. "Wait!" Eren called, but he blinked and the raven haired bastard disappeared. "Bastard, Heichou," he muttered. "Hey! Yeager!" he heard Jean's familiar and actually welcomed voice call out.

He ran to the source of the voice, which was at the top of a wall with a rope dangling down. "Grab it!" he ordered. Eren grabbed the rope and pulled himself up onto the wall so he could climb up. "You wonderful horse you!" he said and Jean glared at him. "Don't make me let go, I'm not a man willing to give up the chance to see if you'll splatter," he warned and Eren rolled his eyes. He finally got up to the top and Jean had the decency to help pull him up. "I could hug you, you horse-faced bastard!" he said before going to hug him. "No! No! Don't hug me! No!" Jean yelled, trying to push him away. The floor caved in underneath them and Jean was still yelling as they slid downwards. He managed to grab an old, thankfully long nail before he fell competely and Eren nearly fell on top of him. "Hold on-- Oh my god..." Eren gasped out for breath, though the air was horrid and rank.

He saw horses lined along in stables and resisted the urges to puke and laugh at the same time. How could you _not_ see the resemblance? The horses stables were actually not clean. Their water and food were full and clean, but obviously someone had ignored stable duty. "Where are we?" he asked. "The stables, where do you think?!" Jean snapped as he pulled himself up. "Why are we here?" Eren asked. Jean looked away. "It's my punishment for dropping out of medicinal school," he snapped. "What? Is this the land for noble steeds?" Eren teased and Jean glared at him. "Be grateful you bastard!" Jean spat. "I knew you were a noble steed, loyal to the end!" Eren continued. "Stop," Jean warned. "Are you saying I should cut back on the _horse_ play?" he asked, on the verge of breaking out with laughter. "Shut up!" Jean flushed. "Quit _horsing_ around!" Eren laughed. Jean growled in annoyance.

"Hey, Jean. Do you know your perfect nickname?" he asked, snickering now. Jean glared at him but caved. "What?" he asked. " _Warhorse_!" he full out laughed and he swore the horses were neighing with laughter as well. Jean rolled his eyes and grumbled under his breath. "Gay," he said. "What?" Eren asked. "Gay," Jean said, louder this time. "How's a hug, gay?" Eren asked with a glare. "It's gay because I said so!" Jean snapped. "So if you hugged Marco, that'd make you gay?" Eren smirked and Jean scowled at him. "Speaking of Marco, you selfish bastard, who do you think needed help?" he snapped, glaring again. "That was... Marco?" Jean asked, fear pooling in his gut. "Yeah, and you ran away. He's fine, I think. I lost him after going in that forest," Eren explained. Jean grumbled and cursed under his breath again.

"At least you came back. You may be a horse-faced bastard, but I guess you're my friend," Eren said. "I am not horse-faced," Jean snapped and a horse nickered. "And I am not your friend," he added. "I only came to get my keys back and uhm... give you, uhm, give you--" he trailed off. "Give me what?" Eren asked. Jean didn't have a chance to answer before the stone under his foot gave way and he fell down. "Jean!" Eren yelled before his own feet slipped. They fell down and slid onto the cobblestone just outside where the horses were grazing and fell onto Marco, who was halfway underneath Jean and his other half under Eren. "Sorry," Eren muttered. Marco groaned in response. "Hi, Jean," he added. Jean gave him a pained groan and Eren a glare before hugging the freckled boy, flipping Eren off behind Marco's back. "Now can we please leave?" Jean snapped as he released Marco. "Yes," Eren said with a smirk.

The duo, now a trio, headed to the nearest bridge where Eren stopped the two of them with wide eyes. "What?" Jean snapped. "Other way," he pleaded. The two looked forward and saw Hanji humming a merry tune and sitting on Moblit like a horse, who looked like he really needed a drink and a new career. Jean smirked before shoving Eren towards Hanji. He fell at her feet and she grinned at him. "Hello, boys!" she said brightly. "And hello my favorite Titan!" she added, pinching Eren's cheek. He slapped her persistent hands away. "Can we cross?" Marco asked. "Not without my permission, and I've heard a lot of great things recently. I'm just curious as to whether it's masochism and sadism, with the obvious side of kinkiness," Hanji said and all three stared at her with flushed faces and confusion as Moblit looked like he wanted to die. "Kill me now," he muttered. "Nope!" Hanji said cheerfully.

"How do we get your permission?" Eren asked, dreading the answer as he massaged his swollen cheek. "Mm," Hanji murmured as she tapped her index finger to her cheek. "You could offer me another tooth! Nah, to oral," she said before tapping her chin, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Oh, I know! You could make a lot of people happy by choosing the good ending!" Hanji squealed. "The good ending?" Eren asked, eyes narrowed with confusion. "Duh!" she said, punching him in the forehead and kicking Jean to the side. "You were complaining how the girl didn't stay with the king, so why should you do the same? Make a lot of people, my insane self included, happy and I'll consider letting you cross," she said, her arms folded over her chest with a smirk plastered on her lips. "Sure," Eren said, rolling his eyes. "Sarcasm only works for Shorty," she said. "Fine," Eren griped. "That's better, but I don't believe you," Hanji teased evilly. "You're evil," he muttered. "And lovable!" she grinned. "Fine!" he snapped. She clapped. "So many endings, so many to choose from," she began to salivate as her cheeks flushed. "Does this mean we can cross?" Jean asked impatiently.

Hanji's dopey face made them think yes. "I'm going with, and Moblit too!" she said as Jean stepped onto the rope bridge, which looked dangerously ricket and old. "No!" Eren and Jean snapped together. "Yes!" Hanji retorted, dragging Moblit to his feet. "Or, I'm going to choose my own ending," she warned, an evil glint in her eyes. Eren gulped and looked away. "Squad Leaders first!" he said. Hanji whistled as she crossed the bridge, dragging Moblit behind her. "Is she crazy?" Marco asked. Both stared at him with annoyed expressions, though Jean's was softer. "Very," three voices said together. Eren followed where Hanji walked off to and Marco followed him while Jean stayed behind before he frowned and pulled out the potato. It looked just like the one Sasha had gotten yelled at for, minus the single bite, but he didn't want to do it. He nearly fed it to a horse but it seemed to glare at him and walked away. He tried another. "'I wouldn't do that if I were you," he heard Levi's voice say and he flinched. "I can't give it to him, even if he is an insane bastard,'" Jean muttered shamefully, Mikasa's wrath the last thing on his mind.

Levi glared at Jean in the reflection of the clock. "He'll do it, and the brat'll forget," he muttered. "Was that my stomach or yours?" she asked Moblit, who was crawling on his hands and knees like a dog(or a noble steed in Hanji's eyes) as Hanji sat on his back and played with his hair. "Yours sounds like a Titan," Moblit retorted. "Yeah, probably yours," she said, poking him in the side. Moblit flinched and giggled slightly before blanching with fear. "No! NO!" he yelled, practically bucking Hanji off as she began chasing him. "Who knew a horse could be ticklish?!" she teased. The funny thing was, usually it was the other way around where Hanji was being chased by a Titan she had attempted to tickle, while Moblit chased after them. Marco flushed as his own stomach grumbled and Eren patted his back sympathetically. "Do you think Heichou would be generous enough to spare some berries?" he asked and Marco shrugged before following after Hanji.

"Uh, Eren?" Jean called lightly. "Yeah?" Eren turned, noting Jean had used his first name, and his eyes widened at the steamed potato in Jean's hand. He didn't care if Sasha killed him for it and ate him with the potato, he was _starving_. "You're a lifesaver," he said as he gratefully took the potato. He bit into it and didn't notice Jean ball his hands into fists, turn his head and shut his eyes tightly. He chewed and swallowed the bite with a little more decency than Sasha. "It tastes strange," he said and Jean backed away. "What did you do?" he asked as his vision turned different and his head started to spin. "Damn it, Heichou... Damn me," he muttered as he walked away, his head down with shame.

Eren breathed heavily as he grabbed onto a nearby tree and leaned against it. "Everything's dancing," he said as the world began to spin. "Yea, verily! Onward my trusty steed, for the castle lie yonder, my Titan!" Hanji said as she turned. "Eren?" she called. "Jean?" Marco called out. Levi sat on the window, a leg dangling out, as he twirled three crystals in his fingers. He blew one away and watched it shift into a bubble before doing the same to the other two, a small smirk on his lips.

Eren was laying against the tree, the potato still in his hand with a single bite taken out of it as a bubble floated along his line of vision. He blinked and saw himself standing in the bubble, wearing the same clothes he had on during his trial, a light blue, long-sleeved button up shirt with brown pants and his brown shoes. He blinked and saw himself standing in what looked like a regal ballroom with dozens of people dancing while dressed in costumes for what looked like a masquerade. He felt out of place and flushed, wondering what he was even doing here in the first place. He tried to walk away but was stunned by the sight before him.

Levi Heichou was dressed in his Survey Corps uniform, adorning his traditional and glorious ivory cravat, but he looked cleaner(if that was possible), polished, and well trimmed and daresay handsome. He raised a black eyebrow at Eren, who flushed and shuffled away awkwardly. Levi extended his hand to him and hesitantly, Eren took it. He swore he heard singing that sounded unfamiliar, but it wasn't unwelcome. "' _There's such a sad love, deep in your eyes, a kind of pale jewel, opened and closed within your eyes. I'll place the sky within your eyes_ ,'" the distant voice sang beautifully as they actually began to dance, Eren being the woman of course despite the fact that Levi was shorter.

"' _There's such a fooled heart beating so fast in search of new dreams, a love that will last within your heart. I'll place the moon within your heart. As the pain sweeps through, makes no sense for you, every thrill has gone, wasn't too much fun at all, but I'll be there for you as the world falls down. It's falling, it's falling down, falling in love_ ,'" the voice continued, never wavering even as Eren's flushed deepened at the darkened gaze from Levi. "' _I'll paint you mornings of gold, I'll spin you valentine evenings thought we're strangers till now. We're choosing a path between the stars, I'll lay my love between the stars. As the pain sweeps through, makes no sense for you, every thrill has gone, wasn't too much fun at all, but I'll be there for you as the world falls down. It's falling, it's falling, it's falling, falling in love, it's falling_ ,'" the song continued, though lowering as it did as Eren looked down.

Levi tch'd at him and pinched Eren's chin between his forefinger and his thumb and forced his head up to look at him. Their faces were inches apart and Levi leaned forward to press his lips softly against Eren's. He sighed into the kiss as he wrapped his arms around Levi's shoulders, never breaking the kiss. He gave a sharp gasp as Levi lightly bit his lip, unintentionally giving the shorter man entrance as his tongue explored the untouched cavern. The need for air became to strong for Eren and he unwillingly pulled away. Levi pressed butterfly kisses along his jawline, lightly nipping the tender skin every now and then as Eren gave him short gasps in response. He stopped when he reached Eren's shoulder and laid his head against it. Eren looked down and saw him staring up at him with a darkened expression. "Stay with me?" he asked in a husky voice, though it was sincere and hopeful. How could Eren say no? "Is this a dream?" he asked softly.

Gray eyes actually twinkled silver instead of glaring dangerously. "It doesn't have to be," he replied softly, nuzzling Eren's neck. "The Titans..." Eren whispered. "Aren't a problem if you don't make them one," Levi said in a low voice. "Stay with me?" Levi asked again, his tone hopeful, his voice low, and his eyes almost saddened. Eren was aware that they were now the only two in the room, the other patrons having disappeared during the song without him even realizing it. How could anyone say no? Eren realized how lonely Levi must really be and he frowned as he nuzzled Levi back. How could he say no to _Heichou_? How could he say no to _his_ Heichou? Even at all, how could he say _no_?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Hope this was enjoyed and not to short  
> \- I love Ereri, all forms of it


	5. Ending One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- I always like the idea of 'Choose Your Own Ending', depending on the endings

Eren hadn't had a chance to answer before he was rudely awakened by slapping hands in his face. "Wake up, idiot! Can't you see it's a trap?!" he heard Jean yelling. He curled his fist and swung as he blinked his eyes open. He saw Jean laying on the ground, his face swelling now. "Well," he groaned. "At least your awake," he grimaced. "What the hell!?" Eren snapped. "I couldn't take it! Even a horse-faced bastard like myself felt guilty for leaving your suicidal ass!" Jean snapped. "I'll never eat a potato again for as long as I live," he added regretfully. "More for me!" a miniature Sasha said cheerfully, snatching the potato out of Eren's hand and disappearing into the forest. "What do you want? Couldn't you tell I was having damn good dream?!" Eren snapped and Jean glared at him, his hands balling into fists.

"The best dreams are always the most fake," he spat bitterly. "It wasn't fake!" Eren retorted, glaring at him. "What'd he do? Ask you to stay with him? Wake up already, dammit!" Jean barked out. "I would have by now, as you so eloquently explained!" Eren snapped back and Jean flinched. "You make your own damn decision, what the hell do you want?" Jean asked. "I want to go home! I want the dreams to end!" Eren answered truthfully. "Then pick. Either stay here or go home," Jean said, his anger disappearing.

"I-- what?" Eren asked, blinking with surprise as his own anger dissipated. "Either stay here, or go home," Jean repeated. Eren looked down. "No more tricks, no more magic, no more Titan Kings," Jean explained. "No more tricks my ass, it's all Titans back there over a stupid key," Eren muttered. "You always said I was selfish. Well are you going to be selfish? Dreams are always better than reality, but are you going to leave behind Mikasa and Armin? The Survey Corps? Humanity's last hope?" Jean asked and Eren glared at him again. "Like you ever cared about any of that," he retorted. "And this... is it a dream? Nobody will give me a straight answer. Yes or no? I want the truth," Eren said angrily. "The truth is what you want," Jean said.

"I want there to be a world without Titans devouring humanity, I want freedom," Eren sighed. "Well, you're not going to get it by becoming the king's bitch," Jean snapped before leaving. "Is this a dream or not!?" Eren practically scream. Jean looked back at him, his mouth open as though he were about to say something but he closed it again before shaking his head until hair fell over his eyes and he attempted to walk away, but Eren grabbed him. "Don't tell me. Be a horse's ass, but at least take me to the city," he snapped.

Jean blinked before nodding slowly. Eren glared at the gate in the distance as Marco, Hanji, and Moblit appeared out of nowhere. "There you are. We were worried!" Hanji squealed, hugging Eren tightly and pinching his cheeks. "More like _we_ were worried and _you_ were trying to hug Titans," Moblit retorted. Hanji stuck her tongue out at him. "Where did you go?" Marco asked, concerned. Jean looked away and Eren rolled his eyes. "Long story short, one of us got attacked and nearly eaten by a giant potato," Eren said and Jean raised an eyebrow at him, an amused smirk on his lips. "Sasha?" Marco guessed with a smile. "A giant potato eating Potato-Girl," Eren confirmed with a nod. "Well, Potatoes and Potato-Girls aside, it's time to see the big finale! I've got bets to place and wages to win!" Hanji said delightedly as they came to the gate where the guard was sleeping. Hanji blew a raspberry at him and flicked his helmet, revealing the face of Nile Dok. Eren said nothing. "I've got a spare... well, you do," Jean said awkwardly. "Here's the keys back," Eren said, plopping them into Jean's hand.

He blinked before nodding and unlocking the gate. "Don't wake him up!" Moblit hissed at Hanji, who had started drawing on Nile's face. She drew glasses, a villainous mustache, and a goatee and Moblit rolled his eyes as she smiled _innocently_ at him. They entered the gate to see the small cottages, households, and homes that reminded Eren painfully of Shiganshina. He frowned and jumped as the double-doors slammed shut, revealing a seventeen meter Beast-Titan statue that sealed together and came to life. "Now what?!" Jean hissed as Hanji looked euphoric at the sight and Moblit and Marco pale. "Get out of the way!" Eren yelled. "That's helpful," Jean muttered, ignoring Eren's glare. The Beast-Titan swung at them, only having them narrowly dodge and Moblit only just managing to pull Hanji out of the way. "How do you kill a beast like that?" Moblit yelled. "How do you kill a beast like that when it's made out of iron?!" Jean retorted. "You don't!"

"Get through the gate! You've got the keys! I'll distract the bastard!" Eren yelled. "You're suicidal!" Jean snapped as Moblit led them to the unguarded gate after the Beast-Titan swung for Eren again. "Hopefully this works," Eren muttered as he lifted his hand to his mouth. He bit down, hard, drawing blood and he shut his eyes tightly in pain and growled when nothing happened. "What's wrong!?" he demanded, biting again and drawing more blood. "I wouldn't do that, idiot! You're not a Titan!" Jean snapped. Eren looked up at him with wide eyes as he dodged the Beast-Titan's swinging arm again. "W-what?!" he yelled. "You lost the key, you lost the titan power!" Jean yelled as though it were obvious. Eren stared at him with shock and even fear.

What use was he to the Survey Corps if he wasn't a Titan? If this wasn't a dream, would it matter? If it was, it didn't matter either way. If it was real and a dream, a dream become real, and he lost the power, then would he be looked at as human again instead of a monster like the Military Police deemed him to be? He didn't have time to think before the Titan swung again, growing irritated. "Son of a-- Yeager! I hate you!" Jean yelled from atop the gate, having done exactly what a heroic idiot would have done. He leapt onto the Titan's head and jabbed two blades into its eyes. It roared in pain and anger as it clawed at Jean. "Get out of there, Horse-face!" Eren yelled.

Jean didn't have his maneuvering gear, yet he still managed to slice open the Beast-Titan's nape. It was deeper than necessary, and wider than necessary, but it _worked_. Though that might've been because the entire spleen fell out as Jean dragged the blade down as he slid down the Titan's back. The beast collapsed, steam pouring from its wounds as it began to dissolve into vapor. "And you say I'm suicidal," Eren said with awe and even respect. Jean glared at him, blood cloaking his face. "Jean!" Marco yelled, running to his friend immediately. "I'm not asking for forgiveness. I'm not ashamed either. Levi made me do it. I don't care what you think. I told you I was a coward and I'm not looking for friendship," he said quietly. Eren rolled his eyes.

"You're not a coward. It's fine, Jean. Well, you are a coward, but you're a cowardly Horse-Lion who just saved us from getting killed by a beast," he said. "I am?" Jean asked, blinking with shock. "Even I didn't have the balls or brains to think of something like that!" Hanji clapped. "Thank you, Jean," Eren said and Jean looked down. Marco patted his hand and smiled at him. "Well, are we going to sit here and smile or get the little midget bastard?" Jean asked with pink cheeks. "I SECOND THAT!" Hanji whooped before charging straight to the castle, running over any Titans that got in her way. Moblit didn't even need to save her, because at the sight of her the Titans started running the _other_ direction. Somehow Eren, Jean, and Marco were able to keep up.

Eren marched straight into the castle, noting the eerie silence. "Well, are we going or not?" Jean asked. "Just me, I'll do it. That's how it's done," Eren said awkwardly. "Should you need us, any of us, call," Hanji said with a wink. "I will," Eren promised before racing up the stairs. "Gay," Jean muttered and Marco lightly chided him as Hanji's nose started to bleed and her eyes turned to stars. "' _How you've turned my world you precious thing_ ,'" he heard that same beautiful voice sing as he stormed up the stairs and to the labyrinthine stairwells that spiraled left and right, up and down, upside down and wrong-side right. "' _You starve and near exhaust me_ ,'" Levi appeared, wearing his same uniform and ivory cravat, a shadow over his eyes. "' _Everything I've done, I've done for you_ ,'" he said, going over the side of the uneven flooring. "' _I move the stars for no one_ ,'" Eren heard as he trekked through the stairs, twisting and turning multiple times.

"' _You've run so long, you've run so far_ ,'" he heard as he came to a drop-off. Levi walked from underneath the bottom and stood in front of him, staring straight into his determined green eyes. "' _Your eyes can be so cruel_ ,'" he sang, revealing a crystal ball in his hand. "' _Just as I can be so cruel_ ,'" he promised as he threw the crystal ball. "' _Though I do believe in you_ ,'" he added and Eren saw Armin wearing the key. "Armin!" he called, running the opposite direction to follow him. "' _Yes, I do_ ,'" Eren heard him singing behind him, though he ran for Armin yet no matter how many times he turned, Armin was always to many steps away. "' _Live without your sunlight_ ,'" he heard, the realization of loneliness dawning on him yet again. "' _Love without your heartbeat_ ,'" he felt a pang of guilt. "' _I... I can't live within you_ ,'" the lonely voice trailed away.

"Armin!" he called to the blonde, who sat at the edge of another narrow hole that would lead to more labyrinthine stairwells and staircases. "Armin," he pleaded, their eyes locking together. Eren looked forward, determined, before screwing his eyes shut and leaping. He thought it would be quick, or that it would hurt, but he blinked as he felt himself floating downwards. He watched the walls disappear before his eyes and they faded into the black sky laced with stars. His boots made a tapping sound as they touched the cobblestone of a floor. He gazed at a darkened corner with determination as Levi came from around the corner, edging out of the shadows.

"Give me the key," Eren ordered. "Watch your tone, brat. I have been generous until now, and you have seen me be cruel. Do not forget, though, that it was to save your life," Levi glared. "Generous? What did you do that was generous?!" Eren demanded. "EVERYTHING!" Levi snapped and Eren recoiled. "Everything you wanted I did and I did it for you. You wanted rid of the key, I got rid of it. I reordered time and I have turned the world upside down and I did it for you. I wasted my energy saving your life in an attempt to prove that you were valuable, that you were useful. Isn't that generous?" Levi asked. Eren glared at him. "And the rest of it? Blackmailing Jean?" he asked. Levi's glare hardened and a shadow fell over his face.

"He didn't even think that his little boyfriend wouldn't die. I value life, what is left of it. You saved his little boyfriend and not once did he think about it. He could've stepped back any time, he was just to cowardly to do it," Levi hissed. "Obviously, cowards and pigs are those who get stepped on," he added. "'Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to teh castle beyond the city, for my will is as strong as yours. And my--" Levi cut him off. "Stop, brat!" he snapped. "Don't you even care about what you could have?" he asked softly. "Your dreams of freedom. Your mother and father," he said, revealing a crystal with their smiling faces in it. "And kingdom is great," Eren continued, thinking back to the line. "I ask for so little," Levi said quietly. "Kingdom is great... Dammit, why can't I remember?" he asked himself. "My kingdom is great..." he stared at Levi with wide eyes. "You have no power over me. You have no power over me!"

The broken expression in Levi's eyes, though naturally emotionless, was so heartbreaking that it almost made Eren regret his decision. He threw the crystal into the air and Eren caught it in his hand as he heard the thirteen numbered clock chiming. Flapping, fluttering sounds of clothes disappearing hit his ears and he gasped as he found himself in the hallway with the book underneath his head, awake. "Levi? Armin?" he called. "Levi?!" he called. "Can't you see it's late, brat? What do you want?" Levi's cold, harsh voice snapped as the man appeared above him with a deadly glare in his eyes that would naturally make Eren cower any other day, but not today. "Levi?" he asked, rubbing his eyes. Levi's eyes narrowed dangerously. "That's _Heichou_ , to you, you shitty brat," he spat. "Heichou," he said softly. "What time is it?" he asked. "Late, idiot," Levi snapped. "What the hell are you doing in the hallway with that stupid book?" he added. "I-I fell asleep," Eren confessed with a flush. "Well, get to the basement then before I drag you there," he ordered. "Yes, Heichou," Eren sighed as he picked up the book and stared at the cover sorrowfully, getting to his feet as he did.

Maybe he should've stayed. Would it have worked? It was just a dream... He felt for his neck and his eyes widened with fear as he didn't feel the key. Did that mean...? "Are you looking for this?" Levi asked and Eren saw the key dangling from his hand. "Thank you," he said, reaching for the key but Levi pulled it back. "What makes you think I was going to give it to you?" he asked. "W-what? Heichou?" Eren stared at him with shock and confusion. "It's going to the Commander. Go to the basement, brat," he ordered. Eren smirked, which made Levi raise a black eyebrow in a familiar way. "No, sir," he said with a smile. Levi's eyes narrowed. "What did you say, brat?" he questioned. "I said, no. Sir," he said. Levi's glare turned cold as ice. "Give me one good reason not to kick the rest of your teeth out until they can't grow back," he snarled. " _You have no power over me_ ," Eren said simply before grabbing Levi by the cravat and pulling him into a sweet, passionate kiss, the key forgotten from both of their minds as it fell to the ground with a _clank_ unaware of the surrounding miniature Titans dancing and laughing in the background.

~Fin, or is it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- What did you think?


	6. Ending Two: Alternate Ending

"Give me the key," Eren ordered. "Watch your tone, brat. I have been generous until now, and you have seen me be cruel. Do not forget, though, that it was to save your life," Levi glared. "Generous? What did you do that was generous?!" Eren demanded. "EVERYTHING!" Levi snapped and Eren recoiled. "Everything you wanted I did and I did it for you. You wanted rid of the key, I got rid of it. I reordered time and I have turned the world upside down and I did it for you. I wasted my energy saving your life in an attempt to prove that you were valuable, that you were useful. Isn't that generous?" Levi asked. Eren glared at him. "And the rest of it? Blackmailing Jean?" he asked. Levi's glare hardened and a shadow fell over his face.

"He didn't even think that his little boyfriend wouldn't die. I value life, what is left of it. You saved his little boyfriend and not once did he think about it. He could've stepped back any time, he was just to cowardly to do it," Levi hissed. "Obviously, cowards and pigs are those who get stepped on," he added. "'Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to teh castle beyond the city, for my will is as strong as yours. And my--" Levi cut him off. "Stop, brat!" he snapped. "Don't you even care about what you could have?" he asked softly. "Your dreams of freedom. Your mother and father," he said, revealing a crystal with their smiling faces in it.

Eren frowned. Did he really want to leave? In this world, dream or not, the Titans were under Levi's control and that was ironic when he thought about it. Of course they'd obey Humanity's Strongest. He never forgave himself for _that day_ and they never found his father, assuming he had also been killed on his way to Sina. "What about the titan power? And the key?" he asked quietly. Levi pressed a finger to his lips. "Gone, if you want," he said. "You could be human again, I would eradicate all of the Titans for you or better yet let Shitty Glasses have all of them," he said quietly as he wrapped his arm around Eren's waist, looking up at him with a heartbreaking expression. Loneliness. "Is this a dream?" he asked as Levi pulled him down, surprisingly gently, and stared him straight in the eye. "That's up to you," he said quietly. Eren blinked away tears before pulling Levi into a sweet kiss, almost oblivious to the chiming clock as multiple voices started cheering and clapping. "Pay up, Eyebrows!" he swore he heard Hanji say, but he ignored her. He gasped as Levi bit his lip again, gaining entrance. Eren fought for dominance and quickly lost, gasping into the kiss. He could feel Levi's smirk against his lips. " _You_ have no power over _me_ , brat," was all he said before pulling him into another kiss.

"' _You remind me of the babe_ ,'" he heard that voice singing. "' _What babe?_ '" a high-pitched voice asked in the distance as the clock continued chiming. "' _The babe with the power_ ,'" it said. "' _What power?_ '" another voice asked. "' _The power of voodoo_ ,'" it sang. "' _Who do?_ '" someone asked. "' _You do_ ,'" it answered. "' _Do what?_ '" a fifth asked. "' _Remind me of the babe._ '" Eren couldn't help but smile into the kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Which ending was better?


	7. Bonus Ending One: Don't Command Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- I couldn't resist lol  
> \- Chapter neutral

Armin smiled as he saw Eren and Levi together, happy and even Levi Heichou was smiling(yet nobody had managed to get around to understanding that and some people were still scared, and by people, that meant Jean) and often Armin would tease Eren about it. Not in front of Heichou of course, but nothing got past his brain. "For such an unfortunate way of meeting, they make a surprisingly cute couple," a voice said in his ear and Armin nearly jumped out of his skin as he turned to see the Commander standing right behind him with a small smile. "Y-yeah," he agreed, clutching the book to his chest protectively. Eren had thrown it at him after Hanji had announced his and Levi's... getting together.

"It was surprising though, did you enjoy the book?" Erwin asked. Armin flushed and nodded. "Shame I didn't get to read it, every time I tried Levi would glare at me," Erwin said with a smile and Armin laughed himself, knowing full well Levi would do it. "Perhaps we could read it together? Eren told me you were quite good at emphasizing on every last detail," Erwin said with curiosity and hope in his blue eyes. Armin's mouth fell open and his jaw went slack as he looked over to Eren who was smirking at him with his arms folded over his chest and even Levi tch'd. "S-sure," Armin said with a glare and a promise for revenge later, even if it meant going to Mikasa. "Care to read it now?" Erwin asked as he led Armin away, the poor boy's flush darkening. "S-sure," Armin squeaked. "They're not going to get any reading done, are they?" Eren asked. "Nope," was all Levi said as he sipped his tea.

"Uhm, do we have to read it now?" Armin asked awkwardly. "I was hoping to," Erwin said with a raised eyebrow. "Read it, Arlert! You anticlimatic coconut!" Hanji yelled. Armin smiled lightly. "Don't command me," he said. "That's my job."


	8. Bonus Ending Two: Ride into the sunset

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Chapter neutral  
> \- Couldn't resist

"Stupid, Yeager," Jean grumbled under his breath as he shoveled another bit of questionable material into the waste bucket. He'd been given stable duty, again, and he blamed Eren for it. "It's okay, Jean. It could always be worse," Marco said brightly as he groomed his horse. "How?" he asked. "Well, Hanji could be here talking about Titans," Marco shrugged and Jean shuddered and nodded. Poor Moblit...

"I don't understand why so many people dislike stable duty though, I think it's a nice chance to bond with the horses," Marco said and Jean rolled his eyes. "You are quite handsome too, Jean," Marco said and Jean flushed and looked at him with his mouth agape before blinking to make sure the scene in front of him was real. Marco was smiling that springtime adorable, angelic smile of his, while feeding a _horse_ a carrot. The horse nuzzled his hair and lightly nipped at it. "Love you too, Jean," Marco said with a smile. "You've gotta be kidding me," Jean grumbled. Marco looked at him sheepishly. "Eren named him and then gave him to me, he's quite lovable," Marco said, patting the horse's mane affectionately. "What'd he do? Tell you to ride it into the sunset?" Jean spat and Marco looked away. Before Jean could attempt to run away with the questionable material filled shovel and fling it at Eren's face, an idea hit him. "Well? Are you going to sit there or ride Jean into the sunset?" he asked, dropping the shovel and pulling the horse's reins and leading it out of the stables.

He climbed onto the horse's back and helped Marco climb onto the horse, letting him wrap his arms around his waist. "Are you sure?" the freckled boy asked with a flush. "Is Yeager insane?" Jean retorted. "I'll take that as a yes," Marco said as he rode Jean into the sunset, a smile on his freckled face.


	9. Bonus Ending Three: Crazy for you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Merry Christmas

"Well, Moblit. My fangirling deeds of the day is done," Hanji said cheerfully as she sat on Bean's shoulders, patting his head affectionately as she stared at the poor _assistant_ of hers that sat on Sonny's shoulders and was gripping his blonde hair for dear life. Moblit said nothing as he drank from his bottle. "Oh, come on! Live a little! While I may condone drinking, this is not the time!" Hanji pouted and Moblit rolled his eyes. "You're insane," he pouted as he found that his bottle was empty, dropping it to the ground. She grinned at him. "Oh, I'm crazy all right. Crazy for you," she said, pinching his cheek and pressing her lips to his, ignoring his flush completely.

"What was that for?!" Moblit asked with shock. "What? Mistletoe!" she said, pointing up. "You drive me crazy," Moblit sighed as he pulled the mistletoe down. "But I'm crazy for you, too," he said with a smile as she started a race to see which Titan could run faster. Hanji cackled with delight. "We all go a little crazy sometimes!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- How was it?

**Author's Note:**

> \- Good or bad?  
> \- Hope you liked it!


End file.
